Acts Chapter 3 Commentary

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Acts Chapter 3

An Understandable Version of ACTS
Translation by William E. Paul Concise PRESENTATION NOTES
by Charles Dailey
(Black underlined words match words in the Bible text.)

Now we have an example of Acts 2:43 that led to a confrontation with authorities.

1) Now Peter and John were going to the Temple at three o'clock one afternoon [Note: Jewish time calculations are employed here], during the regular [Jewish] prayer hour. – Luke's focus is on the two leading apostles.

- They kept the regular Jewish hours of prayer and had a ready-made audience.

2) [On their way] they met a certain man who had been crippled from birth. Every day he had been carried [by friends] and placed at the "Beautiful Gate" [as it was called] of the Temple [enclosure] where he begged for money from those entering the Temple. – This man that was to be healed was a well-known, local man and crippled from birth. There could be no question about the authenticity of his condition.
- for an eye-witness description of the Beautiful Gate, read Josephus' Wars 5.3.
- Begging from those going to worship was probably more productive than begging on a street corner.

3) When he saw Peter and John about to enter the Temple he asked them [also] for money.

4) Peter looked directly at the man and, together with John, said [to him], "Look [at me]." – Peter asked for his undivided attention. Probably most passers-by didn't want to look at the beggar.

5) And the man responded, expecting to receive some coins from them. – He expected money, not a healing.

6) But instead, Peter said, "I do not have any money [i.e., silver or gold], but I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus from Nazareth [i.e., by His authority], get up and walk." – If he could walk, he could provide his own living.

7) And Peter took him by his right hand and lifted him up. Immediately the man's feet and ankles became strong [enough to walk on]. – Notice the specific physical detail. A doctor is recording this: right hand, feet, ankles, jumped, stood, walk. Peter took his hand and pulled him up.

8) He [then] jumped up, stood on his feet and began to walk. And [as] he entered the Temple with Peter and John he was able to walk and [even] jump, while praising God [for his complete healing]. – The healing was not gradual. These muscles had never functioned to allow walking, let alone jumping.

- The healed man credited God.
- He was noisy in a normally quiet place.

9) And all the people [there in the Temple area] saw him walking and [heard him] praising God. – There was a very large number of witnesses that both saw and heard him.

10) And they recognized him as the same person who had sat at the "Beautiful Gate" of the Temple begging for money, and they were filled with wonder and amazement over what had happened to him. – This is another fulfillment of Joel as recorded in Acts 2:19.

11) And as this [former] crippled man stayed close beside Peter and John, all the people rushed toward them at "Solomon's Portico" [Note: This was a large covered area, with rows of columns, on the side of the Temple enclosure], completely astonished [at what had happened]. – See the drawing to locate Solomon's Portico.

- This portico had been built with material left from the days of Solomon's Temple. Hence, the name.

12) And when Peter saw [the crowd assembling] he gave this explanation: "Men of Israel, why are you so shocked at [what happened to] this man? And why are you gazing at us, as though it were by our power or godly qualities that we caused him to walk? – Peter is always courteous in addressing his countryman.

- shocked. See verse 10 above.

13) The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob --- the God of our forefathers --- has highly honored His servant Jesus, whom you people turned over [to the Roman authorities] and denied [Him freedom] in the presence of [governor] Pilate, who had already decided to release Him. – Peter, too, gave credit to God and refused it for himself. His presentation was about as specific as it could be. The God involved is carefully specified.

- servant. For the titles of Jesus, see the chart.
- YOU turned him over to be killed. Note the other YOU's below.
- The rulers alone were not to blame.

14) But you denied the Holy and Righteous One [His rightful freedom] and asked for a murderer to be released to you [instead]. – YOU denied God's Holy One.

- YOU released a murderer in His place.

15) [Then, at the hands of the Roman authorities] you killed the Prince of [never-ending] life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we [apostles] were [reliable] witnesses of it. – YOU killed the Prince of life
- The resurrection is in every sermon.
- Jesus is the fountain-head of life.
- See the witnesses discussion with the Acts 1:8 notes.

16) And by [means of] the name [of Jesus], that is, by faith in the [power of His] name, this [crippled] man, whom you now see and know, was healed. Yes, it is the faith that comes through Jesus that is responsible for this man's perfect health, as you now all see. – The healers had the faith.
- This was done by faith in Jesus, not simply invoking his name like magic.
- The age of healing and other miracles lasted about 30 more years -- until the Scriptures were nearly completed. See chart for a timeline on miracles.

17) "And now brothers, I know that [both] you and your [Jewish] rulers acted in ignorance [of what you were really doing]. – YOU acted in ignorance.

- Ignorance was no excuse, even though these were the most religious people in Jerusalem.

18) But this is the way God fulfilled the things which He had predicted through the prophets about the suffering of Christ. – See the chart showing the suffering of Jesus as predicted in Isaiah chapter 53.

19) Therefore, you people [must] repent [i.e., change your hearts and lives] and turn [back] again [to God] so that your sins will be blotted out and so that you may enjoy times of [spiritual] refreshment from the presence of the Lord [i.e., through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit]. – YOU must repent.
- While neither faith nor baptism is mentioned, accepting the resurrection of Christ (vs. 15) implies obedience to it by baptism. Those who now believed in the resurrection would be baptized with reference to it. Peter had discussed it in Acts 2:38.
- blotted out - as entries in a creditor's record book.
- Peter and John had themselves been enjoying a time of refreshment from the Lord. See Acts 2:44-47.

20) And [also] that God may send Christ [to you], the One whom He has appointed for your [benefit]. This [is] Jesus, – This may refer to the Lord's presence in the Spirit or to his second coming as in Acts 1:11.

21) who must be received into heaven until [God's appointed] times when everything will be restored [to its intended purpose]. God had spoken about this through the proclamations of His holy prophets of long ago. – Jesus is seated by the Father. Acts 2:34.

22) Moses [expressed it when he] said [Deut. 18:15], 'The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers; He will be like me [in some ways] and you must all pay attention to Him in everything He says to you.' – Moses was unique as a prophet because he gave the law while later prophets only reenforced what he had taught.

YOU must listen, according to Moses.

23) [Deut. 18:19 says], 'And it will be [at that time] that every person who does not listen to that prophet will be completely destroyed [spiritually] from among [God's] people.' – The wording in our Deuteronomy differs some with this.

24) Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel on down, who have spoken, have predicted these days. – To reject Jesus is to reject the prophets' messages.

YOU are heirs of the prophets.

25) You people are descendants of these prophets and [recipients] of the Agreement God made with your forefathers when He said to Abraham [Gen. 12:3], 'And through your seed [i.e., your descendant Jesus] all the people of the earth will receive the blessings [of God].'

– The conversion of the Gentiles is implied. The Gentile Dr. Luke picks up on those promises.

- YOU must turn from your sins.

26) You [Jews] were the first ones to receive this blessing when God raised up [i.e., selected ] His Servant [i.e., Jesus] and sent Him to turn all of you [away] from your sins." – Israel had the first opportunity. Later others will have the forgiveness of sins, too.
- raised up - in the sense of to bring before the public or to stand up such as used in Judges 2:16, 18; 3:9, 15; Luke 1:69. God arranged for the appearance of Jesus and sent him to Israel.

The drawing of Herod's Temple
The table of Old Testament titles used to describe Jesus in Acts 3
The table of miracles in the New Testament books
The table of prophecies pointing to Jesus in Isaiah 53
The Next Chapter

Acts Chapter 3
*An Understandable Version of ACTS* Translation by William E. Paul	*Concise PRESENTATION NOTES* by Charles Dailey (Black underlined words match words in the Bible text.)
	Now we have an example of Acts 2:43 that led to a confrontation with authorities.
1) Now Peter and John were going to the Temple at three o'clock one afternoon [Note: Jewish time calculations are employed here], during the regular [Jewish] prayer hour.	– Luke's focus is on the two leading apostles. - They kept the regular Jewish hours of prayer and had a ready-made audience.
2) [On their way] they met a certain man who had been crippled from birth. Every day he had been carried [by friends] and placed at the "Beautiful Gate" [as it was called] of the Temple [enclosure] where he begged for money from those entering the Temple.	– This man that was to be healed was a well-known, local man and crippled from birth. There could be no question about the authenticity of his condition. - for an eye-witness description of the Beautiful Gate, read Josephus' Wars 5.3. - Begging from those going to worship was probably more productive than begging on a street corner.
3) When he saw Peter and John about to enter the Temple he asked them [also] for money.
4) Peter looked directly at the man and, together with John, said [to him], "Look [at me]."	– Peter asked for his undivided attention. Probably most passers-by didn't want to look at the beggar.
5) And the man responded, expecting to receive some coins from them.	– He expected money, not a healing.
6) But instead, Peter said, "I do not have any money [i.e., silver or gold], but I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus from Nazareth [i.e., by His authority], get up and walk."	– If he could walk, he could provide his own living.
7) And Peter took him by his right hand and lifted him up. Immediately the man's feet and ankles became strong [enough to walk on].	– Notice the specific physical detail. A doctor is recording this: right hand, feet, ankles, jumped, stood, walk. Peter took his hand and pulled him up.
8) He [then] jumped up, stood on his feet and began to walk. And [as] he entered the Temple with Peter and John he was able to walk and [even] jump, while praising God [for his complete healing].	– The healing was not gradual. These muscles had never functioned to allow walking, let alone jumping. - The healed man credited God. - He was noisy in a normally quiet place.
9) And all the people [there in the Temple area] saw him walking and [heard him] praising God.	– There was a very large number of witnesses that both saw and heard him.
10) And they recognized him as the same person who had sat at the "Beautiful Gate" of the Temple begging for money, and they were filled with wonder and amazement over what had happened to him.	– This is another fulfillment of Joel as recorded in Acts 2:19.

11) And as this [former] crippled man stayed close beside Peter and John, all the people rushed toward them at "Solomon's Portico" [Note: This was a large covered area, with rows of columns, on the side of the Temple enclosure], completely astonished [at what had happened].	– See the drawing to locate Solomon's Portico. - This portico had been built with material left from the days of Solomon's Temple. Hence, the name.
12) And when Peter saw [the crowd assembling] he gave this explanation: "Men of Israel, why are you so shocked at [what happened to] this man? And why are you gazing at us, as though it were by our power or godly qualities that we caused him to walk?	– Peter is always courteous in addressing his countryman. - shocked. See verse 10 above.
13) The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob --- the God of our forefathers --- has highly honored His servant Jesus, whom you people turned over [to the Roman authorities] and denied [Him freedom] in the presence of [governor] Pilate, who had already decided to release Him.	– Peter, too, gave credit to God and refused it for himself. His presentation was about as specific as it could be. The God involved is carefully specified. - servant. For the titles of Jesus, see the chart. - YOU turned him over to be killed. Note the other YOU's below. - The rulers alone were not to blame.
14) But you denied the Holy and Righteous One [His rightful freedom] and asked for a murderer to be released to you [instead].	– YOU denied God's Holy One. - YOU released a murderer in His place.
15) [Then, at the hands of the Roman authorities] you killed the Prince of [never-ending] life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we [apostles] were [reliable] witnesses of it.	– YOU killed the Prince of life - The resurrection is in every sermon. - Jesus is the fountain-head of life. - See the witnesses discussion with the Acts 1:8 notes.
16) And by [means of] the name [of Jesus], that is, by faith in the [power of His] name, this [crippled] man, whom you now see and know, was healed. Yes, it is the faith that comes through Jesus that is responsible for this man's perfect health, as you now all see.	– The healers had the faith. - This was done by faith in Jesus, not simply invoking his name like magic. - The age of healing and other miracles lasted about 30 more years -- until the Scriptures were nearly completed. See chart for a timeline on miracles.

17) "And now brothers, I know that [both] you and your [Jewish] rulers acted in ignorance [of what you were really doing].	– YOU acted in ignorance. - Ignorance was no excuse, even though these were the most religious people in Jerusalem.
18) But this is the way God fulfilled the things which He had predicted through the prophets about the suffering of Christ.	– See the chart showing the suffering of Jesus as predicted in Isaiah chapter 53.
19) Therefore, you people [must] repent [i.e., change your hearts and lives] and turn [back] again [to God] so that your sins will be blotted out and so that you may enjoy times of [spiritual] refreshment from the presence of the Lord [i.e., through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit].	– YOU must repent. - While neither faith nor baptism is mentioned, accepting the resurrection of Christ (vs. 15) implies obedience to it by baptism. Those who now believed in the resurrection would be baptized with reference to it. Peter had discussed it in Acts 2:38. - blotted out - as entries in a creditor's record book. - Peter and John had themselves been enjoying a time of refreshment from the Lord. See Acts 2:44-47.
20) And [also] that God may send Christ [to you], the One whom He has appointed for your [benefit]. This [is] Jesus,	– This may refer to the Lord's presence in the Spirit or to his second coming as in Acts 1:11.
21) who must be received into heaven until [God's appointed] times when everything will be restored [to its intended purpose]. God had spoken about this through the proclamations of His holy prophets of long ago.	– Jesus is seated by the Father. Acts 2:34.
22) Moses [expressed it when he] said [Deut. 18:15], 'The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers; He will be like me [in some ways] and you must all pay attention to Him in everything He says to you.'	– Moses was unique as a prophet because he gave the law while later prophets only reenforced what he had taught. YOU must listen, according to Moses.
23) [Deut. 18:19 says], 'And it will be [at that time] that every person who does not listen to that prophet will be completely destroyed [spiritually] from among [God's] people.'	– The wording in our Deuteronomy differs some with this.
24) Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel on down, who have spoken, have predicted these days.	– To reject Jesus is to reject the prophets' messages. YOU are heirs of the prophets.
25) You people are descendants of these prophets and [recipients] of the Agreement God made with your forefathers when He said to Abraham [Gen. 12:3], 'And through your seed [i.e., your descendant Jesus] all the people of the earth will receive the blessings [of God].'	– The conversion of the Gentiles is implied. The Gentile Dr. Luke picks up on those promises. - YOU must turn from your sins.
26) You [Jews] were the first ones to receive this blessing when God raised up [i.e., selected ] His Servant [i.e., Jesus] and sent Him to turn all of you [away] from your sins."	– Israel had the first opportunity. Later others will have the forgiveness of sins, too. - raised up - in the sense of to bring before the public or to stand up such as used in Judges 2:16, 18; 3:9, 15; Luke 1:69. God arranged for the appearance of Jesus and sent him to Israel.
The drawing of Herod's Temple The table of Old Testament titles used to describe Jesus in Acts 3 The table of miracles in the New Testament books The table of prophecies pointing to Jesus in Isaiah 53 The Next Chapter